“That could be neat,” I said. “My take on reading that was that you wanted to hang the sign outside.”

Tristan smiled. “Something nice and big, colorful, with a by-line saying something about how we’re a covert team of heroes.”

“I wasn’t sure,” I said.

“Believe it or not, I’m not a dumb guy,” he said. “Stubborn, maybe—”

“Definitely,” Kenzie called out, sitting at her desk. She was leaning over her homework.

“Most definitely,” Sveta said.

“Fine. But I’m not dumb. I’m thinking about the things we need to get in terms of things we can fold up or pack away, since we may be moving a lot. We can fold up the cot, I can carry a mini fridge, these tables have legs that can fold up to the underside, and for the sign, I was picturing getting three separate canvases and having us put them up there so it connects or lines up.”

“Could work,” I said.

“Three part name?” Sveta asked.

“No idea,” Tristan said. “Sorry, Vic, you were going to say something?”

“I was going to ask if you train, or if the extra strength is from the powers. Biokinesis or whichever.”

“I train,” Tristan said. “I was just thinking of setting up a punching bag or something, actually.”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“I usually end up with restless energy to burn. I lift, I run on the treadmill, and I had a class I took with Reach, but obviously it’s been a while. Works with my enhanced strength.”

“So it does help, then.”

“You look like you do something,” Tristan said.

“I do,” I said. “Or I did. I don’t have access to my dad’s equipment or the stuff I had while helping out with the Patrol block.”

“Does it help? Powerwise?”

I shook my head. “Forcefield derived strength. I’m strong enough to tear apart an engine block with my hands. That wouldn’t change if I didn’t get off the couch and weighed three hundred pounds or if I was a bodybuilder.”

“Why bother if you can tear apart engine blocks?” Tristan asked.

“Why do I walk when I could fly? I’d atrophy, for one thing, and I can’t always use my strength. I don’t have the control to do something more delicate. I—I honestly don’t trust my power, a lot of the time.”

Sveta came to stand beside me, to get a look at Tristan’s idea of a finished floor plan and join the conversation.

“…There’s a middle ground, and I’d like to be able to function in it,” I finished.

“It’s kind of where I’m at,” Sveta said. “Except I’m not trying to find a middle ground between one hundred miles an hour and a standstill. I’m using this body to bring myself to a point five percent of the way between zero and a thousand miles an hour.”